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July 10, 2026

Tehran 1:52 pm

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Mourners surge towards the turban-clad casket of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 9, 2026, in Mashhad, Iran.

Even as ceasefire frays, Trump and Iran shy away from full war

The United States and Iran are escalating their tit-for-tat strikes, posing the biggest threat yet to their framework deal.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict

A US missile strike on the railway bridge linking Iran to Central and East Asia suggests the White House is once again flirting with politically coercive tactics after the June agreement failed to halt Iran's attacks on Hormuz shipping.

(Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

US strikes strategic railway bridge linking Iran to China: What to know

The railway bridge also links Tehran and other southern cities to Mashhad, where large crowds are gathering for the burial ceremony on Thursday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Latest News

Analysis

As Trump declares deal 'over,' IRGC takes lead in shaping Iran's response

Iranian NOPO special police officers stand guard in front of a large portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at Valiasr square on July 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

New Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is greeted as he arrives for the swearing in ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, on July 30, 2024.

Hamas and Hezbollah officials in Iran for Pezeshkian’s inauguration, France’s Macron calls

Officials from the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia went to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration in Tehran amid significant tensions in the region.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s Khamenei reaffirms opposition to Azerbaijan’s corridor plan to Armenia PM

Iran remains opposed to an Azerbaijani corridor through Armenia that would cut off the Islamic Republic’s access to the Black Sea.

Armenia's foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, meets with his counterpart from Iran in Tehran on July 24, 2023.

Even as Iran denies $500M arms deal with Armenia, foothold in Caucasus is priority

The report came as Iran has been accused of siding with Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan, while Tehran is also advancing an agenda of influence in the Caucasus to counter the presence of its Western adversaries and Israel.

The Iran-flagged oil tanker ship Clavel is docked at Shahid Beheshti Port in the southeastern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, during an inauguration ceremony of new equipment and infrastructure at the port on February 25, 2019.

Amid US-sanction fears, can India, Iran move ahead with $370M port deal?

Will progress on the long-term bilateral agreement signed by New Delhi and Tehran on the development of the Shahid Beheshti port be stymied by US sanctions?

A police officer is seen in front of the Blue Mosque, housing the Islamic Centre of Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 24, 2024.

Iran summons German ambassador, furious over Islamic center closure

Iran, which has been running similar foundations in several Western countries, condemned the ban as an act of Islamophobia after Berlin found the center to be propagating "extremism and fundamentalism."

Debris litters a loading dock a day after Israeli strikes on the port of Yemen's Houthi-held city of Hodeida on July 21, 2024.

Analysis

Israel’s Yemen attack against Houthis warning to nuclear Iran

While concerns grow in Israel over the continued drone and missile attacks by the Houthis in Yemen, the real threat remains that of Iran.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an NCAA championship team celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024, in Washington.

From Gaza to Iran: What Kamala Harris’ Middle East policy could look like

Harris has been described as more critical of Israel than President Joe Biden, but with similar views on Iran and relations with regional leaders, including in the Gulf.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 29: U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wave to members of the audience after speaking at a campaign rally at Girard College on May 29, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biden and Harris are using today's rally to launch a nationwide campaign to court black voters, a group that has traditionally come out in favor of Biden, but their support is projected lower than it was in 2020. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Middle East cheers Biden’s withdrawal, uncertain about Kamala Harris pick

Many people in the region were joyful about President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection, as they blame him for the crises including the war in the Gaza Strip.

A Taliban fighter stands guard outside the US embassy as people demonstrate against videos of allegedly showing Afghan refugees being beaten by Iranians went viral, near the Ahmad Shah Massoud square in Kabul on April 12, 2022.

Analysis

Where are Iran-Afghanistan ties headed under Pezeshkian?

Iran-Afghan ties have a long history of tension, and though Iran's new president-elect has vowed to improve relations with its neighbor, the potential for continuing conflict remains.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

An Israeli policeman makes a phone call on the scene where an explosion took place in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2024.

Iran applauds Houthis for Israel attack, yet keeps distance to avoid blame

During the course of the Israeli war on Gaza, Iran has walked a fine line of praising attacks by its proxies while carefully attempting to dodge a direct confrontation with Israel.

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East takeaways from Trump’s Republican convention speech

The former president addressed the Gaza war and US policy toward Iran in the speech and pledged to build a missile defense system like Israel’s Iron Dome.

ATTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages

Armed attack in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province kills police officer

Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni Islamist group of Baluchis fighting for the independence of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, is known for attacking Iranian security and military forces.